Felly-plate.



Patented Sept. 4, I900.

C M IN SH A L L.

F E L LY P LAT E.

(Application filed Mar. 24, 1900.)

IIIIII m Model.)

II/IIIIII 'III IIIIYIJIIIIJM avwewtoz UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

CHARLES MINSHATQL, or TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA.

TELLY-PLATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters patent No. 657,435, dated September 4, 1900.

' Application filedMaich 24,1901); Serial No. 10.035. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: i Q Be it known that 1, CHARLES MINsHAL a citizen of the United States, residing at Terre Haute, in the county of Vigo and State of the spoke when subjected to a heavy load. Heretofore it has been customary to give the shoulder of the spoke a. broad bearing on the.

i so

inside of the felly by forming a flat surface on the felly around the socket for the spoketenon. Moreover, the endof the tenon has been brought out flush with the outside of the felly, so as to bear against the inside of the tire, and thus obtain the benefit of a diit frequently happens in service that owing, to shrinkage of thefelly or to other causes.

the ends of one or more tenons willafter a while be found projecting beyond the felly,

necessitating-"the removal of the tire and the cutting off of the projecting portion.

difficulty is obviated to some extent by pre-,

"viously countersinking the end of the tenon,

so that in case it is forced beyond the felly the pressure willflcrush or upset its end; but the countersinking must be carefully done after the wheel is assembled,fand unless the tool is accurately applied to the end of the tenon it will cut away part of the felly, and,

thus injure the wheel instead of improving it. I have found by careful experiment that these difficulties can all be obviated by placing between the spoke shoulder and the felly a plate made of stiff metal and so shaped as ,the spoke-socket a.

to receive and distribute the thrust on the shoulder. a I

i In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is .aside elevation of a portion of a felly and spoke with my plate applied thereto. Fig. 2 is .a longitudinal sectional elevation of the same. Fig; 3 is a cross-section, and Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the plate on an enlarged scale.

Thefelly A is of uniform cross-section, not being provided with any flat bearing around It is thus much easier and cheaper to make and has a lighter and neater appearance. Its outside is suitably shaped to receive the tire B. Its inside is rounded, as shown. The spoke G has a square shoulder cand a tenon c, fitting the socket a. The tenon is shorter than the socket, so that its end does not touch the tire, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. I

The plate D is made of cast-steel or malle able iron or other strong and stiff metal. Its

outer surface 61 is curved in both directions to accurately fit the inside of the felly. On

the opposite side of the plate is aflat annular surface d, surrounding the hole (1 for the spoke-tenon. The flat annular surface fits the shoulder'c of the spoke, the outer edge of said annular surface lying flush with the outside of the spoke in order to give a neat finish. The sides (i of the plate are deep in or derto embrace the sides of the felly, and they standat substantially right angles with the annular surfaced. The ends (1 of the plate extend along the felly a suitable distance and taper ofi in thickness, as shown. The side edges are curved to give a graceful appearance and secure lightness with a proper dis-- tribution of the metal to resist the strains brought upon it. This plate is interposed between the spoke-shoulder and the felly and serves to distribute the thrust over a large surface of the felly. Any tendency of the felly to spread is resisted by the embracing'sides of the plate,which are the thickest and strongwithout the aid of the resistance offered by the endof the'spoke-tenon. It will be a ticed thatl rely wholly on the plate, aspace beingleft between the end of the tenon and the tire to allow for shrinkage of the felly.

I thus avoid the necessity for and the ex pense involved in fitting and counter-sinking the end of the tenon. 7 7

I am aware that ithas been proposed to use metallic spoke-sockets'adapted to receive'the to prevent the; crushing'of the telly by the ting and are too expensive for ordinary use, besides afiording lodgment for dirt and moisture when the spoke wears loose or shrinks;

' it being a difiicult matter to make a jointbe tween wood and metal that will stand the test of practical service 7 The sheet metal washers are uselessin practice, owing to'their lackof with the edges of the felly, so that there is no danger. of.stripping off the plate 'when'the wheel runs along a car-track or a curbstone. t Having thus described my invention, what L'claim, and desire'to secure by Letters Patent is r A cast-metal 'fell-y-plate jD, having the curved surface 01, the flat annular surface d,

rthehole d concentric with said annular surface, the deep sides (1 rising from the edge of the annular surface, the tapering ends d exe e 1 tending from the edge of theannlal-larsurface, spoke; but these sockets require careful fitthe outer edge of the annular face dbeing adapted to l'ie'flush with the outer surface of Witn-esse s? Furthermore, it will the spoke, and the sides'd being substantially flush with the spoke and with the edges of the felly. j

In testimony whereof I aifix' my signature in presence of two witnesses. o v

' CHARLES MINSHALL.

' EDWARD SENDE'LBA H,

JAooB J. WIESNER. 

